CMCS hopes to be at the top of the Camden North once again

BY MICHAEL LYNE | West Central Tribune

PRINSBURG — The Central Minnesota Christian Bluejays will look to use their size and toughness in hopes of making a deep playoffs run in the 2022-23 season.

At the helm for his first season as the Bluejays head coach, Brian Nelson takes over a CMCS team that found plenty of success in 2021-22 under Mike Mulder. Mulder was the 2022 Camden North Coach of the Year.

CMCS went 20-9 last season and hopes to compete for the top spot again, where the Bluejays finished 10-0 in conference play.

To be in a similar position as in 202122, CMCS will look to eighth-grade guard Sienna Duininck, junior forward Lauren Taatjes and senior forward Natasha Erickson to pave the way.

CMCS eighth-grader Carrie Mulder grabs a defensive rebound against NLS during a first-round game in the WildCard Tournament Monday, Dec. 27, 2021, at New London.

Joe Brown / West Central Tribune

The Bluejays’ starting lineup will be without their top two scorers in Coco Duininck and Molly Mulder, who accounted for 57.3% of CMCS’ points in 2021-22.

Coco Duininck was the Camden North Most Valuable Player in 2021-22. She and Mulder were also a part of the Camden All-Conference team.

Sienna Duininck returns to the Bluejays as a member of the Camden All-Conference team and one of two starters, who CMCS will heavily rely on. She ranked third in scoring behind Coco Duininck and Mulder with 249 points, averaging 8.6 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.3 steals and 1.2 assists per contest.

Taatjes comes as CMCS’ second returning starter. She scored 129 points on 49% shooting from the field, averaging 4.6 points, 2.5 rebounds, 0.5 steals, 0.5 blocks and 0.5 assists per game.

“Our strengths will be some size and length inside and we have toughness. Our weaknesses are that we don’t return many varsity minutes, which leaves us inexperienced,” Nelson said. “We hope to gain valuable experience and compete for a top spot in the Camden North Conference.”

CMCS sophomore Lauren Taatjes (23) shoots over NLS’ Jaden Coahran during a first-round game in the WildCard Tournament Monday, Dec. 27, 2021, at New London.

Joe Brown / West Central Tribune